1985 Australian Touring Car Championship


The 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Touring Cars. It was the 26th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the first to be contested using regulations based on the FIA's International Group A regulations after having been run under CAMS home grown Group C rules between 1973 and 1984. The championship began on 10 February 1985 at Winton Motor Raceway and ended on 14 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds.

Season Summary

Triple Bathurst winner Jim Richards won his and BMW's first Australian Touring Car Championship driving a 3.5-litre 6 cyl BMW 635 CSi entered by JPS Team BMW. Defending series champion Dick Johnson finished 2nd in his Ford Mustang, with Peter Brock finishing third in his Holden VK Commodore.
The first round of the series at Winton also created history when for the first time since the ATCC was first held in 1960, no Holden of any sort was on the grid. The race also saw the first ever ATCC race win by a BMW with Richards winning by a lap from his new JPS teammate, fellow New Zealander Neville Crichton. Richards' win in the BMW also saw the first ATCC round win by a European car since Jim McKeown won the 7th and final round of the 1970 ATCC at Symmons Plains in a Porsche 911S.
Swedish marque Volvo also joined the winners list when Kiwi Robbie Francevic won Round 3 at Symmons Plains in Tasmania in his Volvo 240T. Still a resident of Auckland, Francevic's win also saw him become the first non-Australian resident to win an ATCC race. The big Kiwi's win in Tasmania in the turbo Volvo was also the first of what would be an eventual 55 ATCC round wins for cars powered by turbocharged engines up until the end of Group A racing in 1992, though it wasn't the first turbo to win an ATCC race as George Fury had won the Lakeside round in 1984 in a Nissan Bluebird Turbo.
Richards, Brock and Francevic were the only drivers to win a race in the series. That actually gave New Zealand born drivers 9 wins out of the 10 rounds, a record for non-Australian wins that still stands as of 2016.
Jim Richards and John Smith in his Toyota Team Australia Corolla were the only drivers to finish each round of the series. Smith won the Up to 2000cc class at the first nine rounds of the series before finishing a close second behind teammate Drew Price in the final round at Oran Park.
Other drivers/cars who made an impression in Australia's first foray into Group A included Sydney privateer Garry Willmington in his privately entered Jaguar XJS with its 5.3 litre V12 engine which proved fast but underdone thanks to Willmington's small budget. The Jaguar was often the fastest car in a straight line when it appeared, but Willmington's lack of budget to develop the car saw it lack the handling needed to be competitive on the smaller Australian tracks. Perth based expat Kiwi Tim Slako in an ex-Andy Rouse BTCC Rover Vitesse powered by a 3.5 litre V8, another Kiwi in Jim Richards' JPS teammate Neville Crichton in his BMW, and yet another Kiwi Kent Baigent who joined the series in Adelaide driving his ex-Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635. Also impressing with giant killing performances was Formula One World Champion Alan Jones in Colin Bond's second Network Alfa team Alfa Romeo GTV6. Jones, in an Luigi Racing built GTV6 generally out-performed Bond who drove his Alfa which had been converted from Group E to Group A specification in 1984. Jones, contesting his first ever ATCC finished 8th in the championship despite not contesting the final three rounds. Don Smith and Laurie Nelson both drove a privately entered Ford Mustang each, and even though they would at occasions both perform decent results in qualifying, lack of reliability and funding drew them well off the pace of Johnson's front running Greens-Tuf Zakespeed Ford Mustang GT.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship.
TeamCarClassNoDriver
Masterton HomesHolden VK Commodore3001 to 6000cc2 Steve Masterton
H. Kent BaigentBMW 635 CSi2001 to 3000cc3 Kent Baigent
Mobil Holden Dealer TeamHolden VK Commodore3001 to 6000cc05 Peter Brock
John Harvey*
Mobil Holden Dealer TeamHolden VK Commodore3001 to 6000cc7 Peter Brock*
John Harvey
Larry Perkins
David Parsons
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota CorollaUp to 2000cc10 John Smith
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota CorollaUp to 2000cc11 Drew Price
Garry Willmington PerformanceJaguar XJ-S3001 to 6000cc12 Garry Willmington
Bob Holden MotorsToyota SprinterUp to 2000cc13 Bob Holden
Mike Quinn
Palmer Tube MillsFord Mustang GT3001 to 6000cc17 Dick Johnson
Ken Mathews Prestige CarsHolden VK Commodore3001 to 6000cc19 Ken Mathews
Jim Keogh AutomotiveHolden VK Commodore3001 to 6000cc20 Jim Keogh
Mark Petch MotorsportVolvo 240T2001 to 3000cc21 Robbie Francevic
Glenn MolloyBMW 635 CSi3001 to 6000cc22 Glenn Molloy
JPS Team BMWBMW 323i2001 to 3000cc23 Tony Longhurst
JPS Team BMWBMW 635 CSi3001 to 6000cc31 Neville Crichton
JPS Team BMWBMW 635 CSi3001 to 6000cc62 Jim Richards
Ron DicksonRover Vitesse24Ron Dickson
Network AlfaAlfa Romeo Alfetta GTV62001 to 3000cc26 Colin Bond
Network AlfaAlfa Romeo Alfetta GTV62001 to 3000cc27 Alan Jones
The Toy ShopAlfa Romeo Alfetta GTV62001 to 3000cc27 Gregg Hansford
Motorsport PerformanceFord Mustang GT3001 to 6000cc33 Don Smith
Ken HarrisonFord Escort Mk.IIUp to 2000cc34 Ken Harrison
Mike Minear RacingVolvo 360GLTUp to 2000cc36 Mike Minear
Ross BurbidgeMazda RX-72001 to 3000cc46 Ross Burbidge
JagpartsTriumph Dolomite SprintUp to 2000cc49 Martin Power
Chris HeyerAudi 5+52001 to 3000cc53 Chris Heyer
JL HazeltonFord Capri Mk.III2001 to 3000cc57 Laurie Hazelton
Capri ComponentsFord Mustang GT3001 to 6000cc64 Lawrie Nelson
John CraftFord Capri Mk.III2001 to 3000cc65 John Craft
Ralliart AustraliaMitsubishi Starion2001 to 3000cc66 Kevin Bartlett
Greville ArnelMitsubishi Starion2001 to 3000cc68 Greville Arnel
Raymond SpencerMazda RX-72001 to 3000cc70 Raymond Spencer
Ian ThompsonBMW 323i2001 to 3000cc77 Ian Thompson
Peter Williamson ToyotaToyota Celica Supra2001 to 3000cc77 Peter Williamson
Melbourne Brake & ClutchMitsubishi Starion2001 to 3000cc78 Brian Sampson
Phil ParsonsFord Capri Mk.III2001 to 3000cc79 Phil Parsons
Alf BarbagalloRover Vitesse3001 to 6000cc96 Tim Slako
Russell WorthingtonMazda RX-72001 to 3000cc100 Russell Worthington

* Peter Brock and John Harvey both drove #05 and #7 during the season.

Race Calendar

The 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over a ten-round series with one race per round.
Rd.Race TitleCircuitLocation / StateDateWinnerTeamReport
1 WintonWinton Motor RacewayBenalla, Victoria9–10 FebJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
2 Pye Audio Round 2Sandown International RacewayMelbourne, Victoria23–24 FebPeter BrockMobil Holden Dealer Team
3 Symmons PlainsSymmons Plains RacewayLaunceston, Tasmania10–11 MarRobbie FrancevicMark Petch Motorsport
4 WannerooWanneroo ParkPerth, Western Australia30–31 MarJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
5 Motorcraft 100Adelaide International RacewayAdelaide, South Australia20–21 AprJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
6 Eurovox TrophyCalder Park RacewayMelbourne, Victoria27–28 AprJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
7 Gold Coast Bulletin Centenary TrophySurfers Paradise International RacewaySurfers Paradise, Queensland18–19 MayJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
8 LakesideLakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland22–23 JunJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
9 Better Brakes 100Amaroo ParkSydney, New South Wales6–7 JulJim RichardsJPS Team BMW
10 Castrol Grand FinalOran Park RacewaySydney, New South Wales12–13 JulRobbie FrancevicMark Petch Motorsport

Classes

Cars competed in three classes determined by engine capacity.
Championship points were allocated on a three tier system, to Australian license holders only, for outright places gained in each round:
Outright Position1234567891011121314151617181920
Scale A30272421191715141312111098765432
Scale B2826232017151413121110987654321
Scale C2523201715131110987654321–––

Points from the best nine round results were retained by each driver, any other points not being included in the nett total.

Results